Mediterranean migrants- specific questions

jank

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

Aside from the fact that people who aren't living in a war-torn country are less inclined to up sticks and risk their life trying to get into Europe, it ought to be fairly easy to identify if someone isn't from Syria as soon as they open their mouths and find they aren't speaking Syrian Arabic.

The prospect of some non-refugees trying to take advantage of the crisis shouldn't put a bar on a humanitarian response. We know there's three-way war in Syria. We know tens of thousands of people are trying to flee the country. They aren't all disappearing into thin air.

Not true per say. Thousands of people in Asia in countries where there is no war going on, risk life and limb to try and get a better life for themselves, often with tragic ends.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-24/mass-graves-of-suspected-trafficking-victims-found-in-malaysia/6493400

One can make the case for the Rohingyas but the rest are purely economic migrants who are sold fairy tales from would be traffickers. This is not new. Australia has been dealing with this issue for years.

jank

Nodin wrote: »

He's a Kurd.

I hear this now and again, however being a Kurd in of itself in Turkey does not mean that you have the automatic right to be accepted as an Asylum Seeker.
Kurds make up about 20% of Turkeys population, this is about 15 million people. I do not see 15 million Kurds trying to flee Turkey today.

The man rolled the diced, by paying a human trafficker to bring him on boat across the med when he was under no immediate threat.

He took a gamble like so many others and lost heavily. Unfortunately, his son didn't get a say. The man and others can blame the EU or the West or whomever he wishes but ultimately they did not pay criminals for a service that cost this man his family.

Nodin

jank wrote: »

I hear this now and again, however being a Kurd in of itself in Turkey does not mean that you have the automatic right to be accepted as an Asylum Seeker.
Kurds make up about 20% of Turkeys population, this is about 15 million people. I do not see 15 million Kurds trying to flee Turkey today.

The man rolled the diced, by paying a human trafficker to bring him on boat across the med when he was under no immediate threat.

He took a gamble like so many others and lost heavily. Unfortunately, his son didn't get a say. The man and others can blame the EU or the West or whomever he wishes but ultimately they did not pay criminals for a service that cost this man his family.

I'm unaware of him doing so.

jank

Nodin wrote: »

I'm unaware of him doing so.

Well certainly people have more apportioned blame to the EU rather then this salient fact.

surripere

The EU & in particular Germany are very much to blame for this sorry mess. Without the incentive of a guaranteed life in Europe many of these people wouldn't risk their life's making these perilous crossings.

Nodin

surripere wrote: »

The EU & in particular Germany are very much to blame for this sorry mess. Without the incentive of a guaranteed life in Europe many of these people wouldn't risk their life's making these perilous crossings.

They were making this trip before Ms Merkel made her announcement. The sheer numbers seem to have forced the EU's hand.

surripere

Nodin wrote: »

They were making this trip before Ms Merkel made her announcement. The sheer numbers seem to have forced the EU's hand.

Yes I'm well aware of that fact. What's your point?

Wurzelbert

Nodin wrote: »

They were making this trip before Ms Merkel made her announcement. The sheer numbers seem to have forced the EU's hand.

yes, and eu europe and especially germany have been attractive destinations for refugees and economic migrants for decades, since long before merkel even came to office…the current german "migrants are welcome" hysteria merely adds to it…

Nodin

surripere wrote: »

Yes I'm well aware of that fact. What's your point?

Well you can't blame the EU and Germany for "this sorry mess" if the sorry mess was happening before Merkels offer to take them in.

Jelle1880

Nodin wrote: »

They were making this trip before Ms Merkel made her announcement. The sheer numbers seem to have forced the EU's hand.

I think it's fair to say though that Germany's stance will not halt this influx, on the contrary.

I saw a small part of Juncker's State of the European Union today (dude spoke for 72 mins, seriously...)

He made some decent points (asylum seekers should be able to work from day 1, migration should be completely legal with the benefit of cutting out human traffickers for large parts, strengthening Frontex,... but I can't see many countries agree to forced quotas.

That and the fact he seems eager to push TTIP through

weisses

Nodin wrote: »

He's Kurdish. Turkey is not a good place to be Kurdish at the moment.

Up to 20 million Kurdish people in Turkey

Are you suggesting they can all come over here (Europe) With a valid claim of being a refugee ?

Nodin

weisses wrote: »

Up to 20 million Kurdish people in Turkey

Are you suggesting they can all come over here (Europe) With a valid claim of being a refugee ?

Many in Turkey certainly have a case.

foggy_lad

Jelle1880 wrote: »

I think it's fair to say though that Germany's stance will not halt this influx, on the contrary.

I saw a small part of Juncker's State of the European Union today (dude spoke for 72 mins, seriously...)

He made some decent points (asylum seekers should be able to work from day 1, migration should be completely legal with the benefit of cutting out human traffickers for large parts, strengthening Frontex,... but I can't see many countries agree to forced quotas.

That and the fact he seems eager to push TTIP through

This would create a situation 50 times worse with the populations of China and India travelling to Europe for a better life and to work once they applied for "asylum"

foggy_lad

Nodin wrote: »

Many in Turkey certainly have a case.

Nonsense, nobody in Turkey is persecuted in such a way that would entitle them to claim asylum elsewhere.

weisses

Nodin wrote: »

Many in Turkey certainly have a case.

Its all or no one I'm afraid ..... you are being persecuted as a Kurd or not

If you distinguish you could not claim he is a refugee because he is Kurdish as you did over various threads

Nodin

weisses wrote: »

Its all or no one I'm afraid ..... you are being persecuted as a Kurd or not

If you distinguish you could not claim he is a refugee because he is Kurdish as you did over various threads

A male in Northern Turkey can claim persecution and have good grounds for doing so. You might not like it, but c'est la vie.

weisses

Nodin wrote: »

A male in Northern Turkey can claim persecution and have good grounds for doing so. You might not like it, but c'est la vie.

But your man was not from Northern Turkey

You claimed over and over on various threads that because he was a Kurd he had all the reasons to flee as a refugee

Now its confined to a male in Northern Turkey who might have a case ... terrific

weisses

double post

Nodin

foggy_lad wrote: »

Nonsense, nobody in Turkey is persecuted in such a way that would entitle them to claim asylum elsewhere.

Despite some years which offered hope of a different attitude, it went back to square one -
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/14/turkey-jail-journalists-kurdish-question
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Kurdish-musician-in-Turkey-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison-for-singing-in-Kurdish-402882

http://humanrightsturkey.org/2015/09/08/an-update-on-frederike-geerdink-case/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/07/30/dispatches-amid-rising-tensions-dangerous-moment-rights-turkey

Considering that up to twenty or so years ago, you could be dragged out of your bed by the Turkish police or Army and never seen again, I'd say some have great reason to be nervous.

Nodin

weisses wrote: »

But your man was not from Northern Turkey

You claimed over and over on various threads that because he was a Kurd he had all the reasons to flee as a refugee

Now its confined to a male in Northern Turkey who might have a case ... terrific

He was a Kurd in that area.....

halkar

Nodin wrote: »

Despite some years which offered hope of a different attitude, it went back to square one -
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/14/turkey-jail-journalists-kurdish-question
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Kurdish-musician-in-Turkey-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison-for-singing-in-Kurdish-402882

http://humanrightsturkey.org/2015/09/08/an-update-on-frederike-geerdink-case/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/07/30/dispatches-amid-rising-tensions-dangerous-moment-rights-turkey

Considering that up to twenty or so years ago, you could be dragged out of your bed by the Turkish police or Army and never seen again, I'd say some have great reason to be nervous.

How many Kurds from Turkey passed to Greece on boats last 20 years prior to Syrian crisis?

The EU attitude to ME crises last 4-5 years has been "the problem is not a problem until it becomes a problem". There was very little help to Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon for the refugees. Now it became a problem and it is too late. There will be millions next year simply because they can get away with it. Last few months have been a great advertisement for human traffickers. They will be capitalising on this next year when the winter over.

weisses

Nodin wrote: »

He was a Kurd in that area.....

Was he persecuted there earlier ?

Is he detained now ? Was he in danger going back to Syria to bury his Family?

I think its No to all three

question still remains .. should Europe take in all the kurds ?

Travelling to the North of Turkey for a while seem to classify one as a valid refugee

surripere

Nodin wrote: »

Well you can't blame the EU and Germany for "this sorry mess" if the sorry mess was happening before Merkels offer to take them in.

Sure I can because this sorry mess (now I'm talking this mass migration as a whole, Libya etc. not just Syria refugees) is a direct consequence of certain member states loony asylum policy. It's no coincidence they are all making it like bandits for Germany & Scandinavia.

Nodin

weisses wrote: »

Was he persecuted there earlier ?

Is he detained now ? Was he in danger going back to Syria to bury his Family?

I think its No to all three

question still remains .. should Europe take in all the kurds ?

Travelling to the North of Turkey for a while seem to classify one as a valid refugee

Any reason you're not addressing the information in the articles I linked? Does that strike you as a normal situation?

weisses

Nodin wrote: »

Any reason you're not addressing the information in the articles I linked? Does that strike you as a normal situation?

Irrelevant links there regarding someone's refugee status

Nodin

weisses wrote: »

Irrelevant links there regarding someone's refugee status

It was stated, and I quote, "Nonsense, nobody in Turkey is persecuted in such a way that would entitle them to claim asylum elsewhere." This would appear to be false.

weisses

Nodin wrote: »

It was stated, and I quote, "Nonsense, nobody in Turkey is persecuted in such a way that would entitle them to claim asylum elsewhere." This would appear to be false.

Based on newspaper/opinion articles and a piece of a dutch journalist ?

FelineOverLord

I heard no news coverage mentioning the anniversary of 7/7 and we're only days away from the anniversary of 9/11 and no mention of that either. Curious that at a time when extremist Muslim organisations have declared war both on Europe and the people of Europe we hear no media mention of those 2 major acts of Muslim terrorism. Of course I'm sure that's not deliberate and that it has nothing at all to do with the open door no checks needed policy that Europe has adopted to allow hundreds of thousand of them into our countries.;)

oscarBravo

FelineOverLord wrote: »

I heard no news coverage mentioning the anniversary of 7/7...

Must have been uncomfortable under that rock.

FelineOverLord

oscarBravo wrote: »

Must have been uncomfortable under that rock.

That's a predictably typical response from you. You don't have a valid argument so you use your Mod status to fling insults at other posters and you'd be the first to issue a ban to a poster who did the same thing, sad really.

K-9

Mod:

Leave the modding to the mods thank you, admins don't mod this forum BTW.

On that note, the thread has been exactly what we want for the most part and thank you to the posters for that. Keep posts relatively civil and respectful and everything will be fine.

Attack the content of the post, not the poster thank you.

oppenheimer1

creeper1 wrote: »

the money in Ireland is gone. The last government spent it all so unfortunately we can't be helpful in this situation.

Should the Irish see cuts to their services to help migrants? I don't think so.

I Am curious if the philanthropist peregrinus would make any sacrifices himself towards the migrants.

Do you have a spare room for one of them?

Would you even be prepared to live next to a migrant family?

I somehow feel that in the case if Ireland's response to this crisis isn't really being driven by money - or the lack thereof in the Irish exchequer, but is simply a policy decision.

Over the past few weeks there have been shouts and calls for solidarity to be shown from both the UK and Ireland in helping to deal with this crisis, but notably both countries have been very restrained in the help they have chosen to offer. The mistake people are making is looking at this event in isolation - Ireland is still seeking a better deal on its bailout terms, while the UK is trying to renegotiate is relationship with the EU. The old adage of never waste a good crisis rings true here I feel.

I bet if there was movement on say shifting the bank debt onto the EFSF the EU would find that the Irish governments attitude to migrants would change.

oscarBravo

FelineOverLord wrote: »

You don't have a valid argument...

...says the poster who dragged 7/7 and 9/11 into a thread about a refugee crisis.

You'll have to excuse me if I don't look to you to set the standard for valid arguments.

Nodin

weisses wrote: »

Based on newspaper/opinion articles and a piece of a dutch journalist ?

Human rights organisations and references to specific cases.

WakeUp

halkar wrote: »

The EU attitude to ME crises last 4-5 years has been "the problem is not a problem until it becomes a problem". There was very little help to Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon for the refugees. Now it became a problem and it is too late. There will be millions next year simply because they can get away with it. Last few months have been a great advertisement for human traffickers. They will be capitalising on this next year when the winter over.

Yemen, the World’s Next Great Refugee Crisis

As the civil war heats up amid intervention by the Gulf monarchies, thousands are fleeing every day.

Many of the thousands of refugees now crossing from Greece and Hungary on their way to more welcoming countries such as Germany are Syrians and Kurds, fleeing the wars and political repression in the Levant. Another large refugee problem may now loom, which is unlikely to leave Europe unaffected. The war in Yemen, already highly destructive, may be getting hotter as it reaches an endgame, with the potential for putting a large proportion of its 24 million people—a slightly larger population than pre-war Syria—on the road (or, more likely, the seas).

 Thousands are leaving every week, taking passage in cargo ships across the Red Sea to Djibouti and Somalia in the Horn of Africa, and then some are making their way north to places like Egypt. The only limiting factor so far has been the high cost of passage, but human traffickers are likely to set up shop on the Yemen coast if they smell money. The chaos in Libya makes it a favored launching place for Afro-Asian refugees attempting to get to Europe, and a stream of Yemenis could make their way to the Mediterranean coast.

If the Saudi-led coalition does manage to conquer Sana by main force and then go after the Houthi leadership in their traditional area of Saada, it will be the Zaydi Shiites’ (a third of the population) turn to flee in the tens or hundreds of thousands

http://www.thenation.com/article/yemen-the-worlds-next-great-refugee-crisis/

creeper1

According to the bbc, only 39% of those refused asylum are repatriated.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34190359

This is a massive pull factor for economic migrants. Even if it is determined they have no asylum case, there seems to be little that can be done to remove them.

jank

Nodin wrote: »

I'm unaware of him doing so.

Update: Seemed to be blaming Canada for this loss now and it seems he never applied for any refugee status there either. As with these things, slowly the truth comes out.

Nodin

jank wrote: »

Update: Seemed to be blaming Canada for this loss now and it seems he never applied for any refugee status there either. As with these things, slowly the truth comes out.

....whatever that means. The man has lost his family, I'd suggest that's the most important truth there.

jank

Nodin wrote: »

....whatever that means. The man has lost his family, I'd suggest that's the most important truth there.

Absolutely, so perhaps he should get a mirror....

johnnyskeleton

Mod note:

This thread has descended into blaming individuals and I dont see how such specific blaming is a political discussion.

So this thread can go one of three ways:
1) stays open and the topic at hand is discussed at the political level rather than targeting apecific individuals;

2) stays open but people who are dragging it off topic will be banned; or

3) it going to be closed, with or without bannings.

Lets all aim for door number 1!

Nichard Dixon

I am reminded of a Warsaw Pack era joke.
A genie appeared to a Hungarian man and offered him 3 wishes.
What is your first wish?
He said I want all Chinese people to come to my house, say hallo and go back to China.
What is your second wish?
He said I want all Chinese people to come to my house, say hallo and go back to China.
What is your third wish?
He said I want all Chinese people to come to my house, say hallo and go back to China.

His friends said are you mad, why didn't you ask for a Mercedes?
he said, well the way I look at it the entire population of China is going to go through Russia 6 times!

In the present context, why if Sweden and Germany want to take a lot of refugees don't they simply send a plane to Turkey to get them? Hence no conflict on borders, drownings and so forth?

Nodin

Nichard Dixon wrote: »

I am reminded of a Warsaw Pack era joke.
A genie appeared to a Hungarian man and offered him 3 wishes.
What is your first wish?
He said I want all Chinese people to come to my house, say hallo and go back to China.
What is your second wish?
He said I want all Chinese people to come to my house, say hallo and go back to China.
What is your third wish?
He said I want all Chinese people to come to my house, say hallo and go back to China.

His friends said are you mad, why didn't you ask for a Mercedes?
he said, well the way I look at it the entire population of China is going to go through Russia 6 times!

In the present context, why if Sweden and Germany want to take a lot of refugees don't they simply send a plane to Turkey to get them? Hence no conflict on borders, drownings and so forth?

There are masses en route already? And in situ in Greece.

Nichard Dixon

Nodin wrote: »

There are masses en route already? And in situ in Greece.

Plane to Greece, then?

dlouth15

Nodin wrote: »

There are masses en route already? And in situ in Greece.

Remember that there are still about 4 million refugees from Syria who haven't made the journey. We don't care about those because they haven't either risked drowning or haven't crossed barbed wire borders. They are not piling up in Germany and so nothing needs to be done about them. They can suffer silently in camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

We care about the ones who have made the journey because they are exposing massive incompetency at the national and European level.

FelineOverLord

I'm wondering what's going on behind the scenes for our government to keep changing tacks on the migrants? First we were told 1800, and that they'd be from UN refugee camps. Then Joan said 5000 minimum, 2 days later Enda says that the 5000 was down to the rule of 4 when people have family members brought over, but again it would be people who'd been checked and approved before leaving Un refugee camps. Then Junker has a pop at the Irish in America and suddenly we're taking the bulk of them from Greece and Italy and they'll be checked when they get here?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we already have a legal bill in the tens of millions for the migrants repeatedly mounting legal challenges against the decision to grant them asylum? Given that there's no limit to the amount of times they can appeal and that they have to be accomodated until a decision is reached is this not just asylum by the back door?

We then have Enda telling us there'll be no giveaway budget, well I think we all knew the budget extras were going to be going to the migrants, and I say migrants because they are not confirmed as genuine asylum seekers. I'd also like to know if what we're spending on these people is going to be deducted from the payments we're making on our bailout? Taking them in is fcuking ridiculous.

oscarBravo

FelineOverLord wrote: »

...I say migrants because they are not confirmed as genuine asylum seekers.

Let's clear up some terminology, because you seem confused.

If someone takes up residence in a country legally, they are an immigrant. If they take up residence illegally, they are an illegal immigrant.

If someone moves from one country to another in the hope of improving their lot in life, they are a migrant. If someone moves from one country to another to escape war or oppression, they are a refugee.

How do you distinguish refugees from migrants? If they don't apply for asylum, they are migrants. If they do apply for asylum, they are asylum seekers (not "genuine" or "bogus"; just seekers). If their application is adjudged to be valid, they are refugees. If not, they are migrants.

There are international agreements governing the handling of refugees and asylum seekers. None of those agreements seek to categorise asylum seekers as migrants by default, on the assumption that they might not be genuine.

Now, you as an individual are not bound by international law, and you can call them what you want - but that doesn't make you right; it just betrays your prejudices.

gobsh!te

72% of these migrants/asylum seekers are men......Does this mean that they left the wife and kids at home? I'm not sure we would want people like that in our country.

Not my opinion....unhcr figures

Lockstep

Lot of misinformation in this thread.

THEY'RE NOT REFUGEES. THEY'RE ECONOMIC MIGRANTS WITH NICE CLOTHES AND SMARTPHONES

According to the UN High Commissioner on Refugees, 50% of refugees crossing the Mediterranean are coming from Syria, 13% are coming from Afghanistan and 8% are fleeing Eritrea. Source
That's over 70% of the refugees either fleeing civil war (Syria, Afghanistan) or an Eritrean government so oppressive that it's known as North Korea on the Red Sea. They're not coming to Europe to get away from poverty or famine. They're coming to escape war, ISIS and government brutality.If you're expecting them to look "poorer", you've a terrible understanding of the conflict. Syrians comprise over half the refugees and prior to it's civil war, it was a middle income country with an 80% literacy rate. They're not fleeing poverty.

I SAW A PHOTO OF REFUGEES IN GERMANY CAUSING TROUBLE

First of all, be critical of everything you see on the internet, especially if it consists of a single image or video and very little context aside from sneering at desperate refugees. A lot of those are complete bullsh!t
Noone is saying that all the refugees are good people. Some of them will be deeply unpleasant people, just like the rest of us. This does not mean that we should turn our backs on them all, just like a few bad Irish people does not mean the rest of us are like that.

THEY JUST WANT TO COME HERE TO CLAIM THE DOLE

So far in 2015, over 2800 people have died crossing the Mediterranean. Do you really think people are going to such risks just to claim the dole?
source

IF WE MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR THEM, IT'LL JUST ENCOURAGE MORE TO COME

Even as the crossing got more dangerous, the numbers crossing the Mediterranean increased. Between 2013 and 2014, Italy ran its "Mare Nostrum" search and rescue operations which swept the Mediterranean for ships and rescued those in trouble. This saved tens of thousands of refugees but was politically unpopular and far too expensive for just one country. As such, it was replaced by an EU wide Operation Triton which was far less comprehensive and drastically increased the risk posed to migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean. Even as the crossing got more dangerous, the numbers trying to cross the Mediterranean surged as instability increased. Clearly, people are so desperate they'll willingly take the extremely dangerous risks to escape. It'd be hard for us to dissuade them without becoming extremely brutal.

WHY AREN'T THE MUSLIM STATES TAKING ANY IN?

Actually, they are Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan have taken in nearly 4 million refugees between them. Although the Gulf States have contributed vast amounts in aid.
However, it's also true that the Gulf States have taken in negligible numbers of refugees. This is unsurprising: no Gulf State is party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. At any rate, the Gulf States are utterly authoritarian and brutal states with terrible human rights records. Do you really want to use them as a benchmark for humanitarianism?

IF THEY WERE IN TURKEY, THEY WERE SAFE THERE AND CAN'T CLAIM ASYLUM ANYWHERE ELSE

Also, there's been a few posts claiming that they can't be refugees if they were safe in Turkey. Untrue. Turkey has a geographic limitation under the Refugee Convention which means that non-Europeans in Turkey lack any legal status and if they want safety, they need to head to a third country.
Ditto for Lebanon which requires its Syrians and are prohibited from working or getting Lebanese sponsors which leaves them

IF WE LET IN REFUGEES, ISIS WILL HAVE A BASE TO ATTACK US!

Oh please, ISIS are a bat**** insane terrorist group who slaughter minorities and keep sex slaves. Are you honestly going to trust everything they say? So far, thousands of Westerners have gone to the Middle East to fight for ISIS. Surely they can use such people with European citizenship to move freely throughout the EU? None is saying the refugees should not be registered and screened upon their arrival. Obviously, some will be bad people and they should be kept out. But if you'd let thousands die because you're scared of the small risk of terrorism, you're a sad individual.
At any rate, the head of German Federal Intelligence thinks there's little risk of terrorists through the refugees.
"According to Schindler, it is unlikely that terrorists would dare to use boats across the Mediterranean to reach Europe. It would be a lot easier for them to reach Europe "with forged or stolen documents and a ticket," according to the BND boss."
Source

oscarBravo

FelineOverLord wrote: »

You seem determined to miss the point

Your point is abundantly clear; you seem to be mistaking making a point clearly for making one that's accurate.

If I advertise a job opening in my business, I will probably get hundreds of applicants. Upon interviewing the candidates, some will turn out to be serious prospects for the job, and others will turn out to be chancers.

Now, before I interview them, I don't know which of them is which, or what percentage of each I'm likely to encounter. By the logic you've espoused, I should describe them all as "chancers" rather than "candidates", because they're not confirmed as genuine prospects.

But that wouldn't be prejudicial on my part. No sirree bob.

FelineOverLord

oscarBravo wrote: »

Your point is abundantly clear; you seem to be mistaking making a point clearly for making one that's accurate.

If I advertise a job opening in my business, I will probably get hundreds of applicants. Upon interviewing the candidates, some will turn out to be serious prospects for the job, and others will turn out to be chancers.

Now, before I interview them, I don't know which of them is which, or what percentage of each I'm likely to encounter. By the logic you've espoused, I should describe them all as "chancers" rather than "candidates", because they're not confirmed as genuine prospects.

But that wouldn't be prejudicial on my part. No sirree bob.

It took 8 years, 15 court cases and 25 million pounds to get Abu Hamza out of Britain. We have, so far, a legal bill for 24 million euros in appeals for rejected asylum claims. We've not heard any migrants stating that they want to come to Ireland. Just wait until the word gets back home that if they come here they get a minimum 188 euro a week, plus medical card, plus free accomodation, free dental care, free education and child benefit and it won't be long before the flights from Turkey to Ireland will be jam packed with migrants claiming asylum.